Yag nodded and stood up. {So, do you want to see if we can take a journey to the mountain together? It might be worth a shot.}
Not one to drag conversations out, Sen leapt forward and began to slide down the first dune. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Yag followed Sen out into the dunes. It had been such a while since he carelessly wandered through the sandy hills, and he had quite missed it. Taking the opportunity, he got down on all fours to slide down the hills, roaring out in joy. I missed the feeling of sand flying by my body and going down so quickly…. He leapt forward off the dune and over to the next one. His specialty was climbing and hurdling great distances. Remembering his new friend, he stopped and sat down waiting. Calling back to her, Yag said, {Sorry, it's just been a while.}
Seeing Yag take off, Sen was impressed. I gotta keep up! She tried, but it was impossible. When she finally caught up, huffing and puffing, Sen fell face first into the sand next to Yag. "You sure can jump," her voice was muffled. She tried to hurdle off to attempt to get a head start on him, but ended up tripping and somersaulting down the hill.
Oomph! A large wall broke her descent. She was not surprised to find out that Yag was already there with her. Kinda spooky.
"These ruins just go on forever….Look!" There weren't very many, but the crumbling buildings spotted the landscape. "And all these graves, too…"
Climbing up to the top of the hill, Yag looked off into the distance. She's right, but they do eventually reach a point….the entrance to the start of the journey… Yag looked back at Sen. {You ready to keep going? I'll slow down a bit.} He remembered that he took part of her scarf, so she was going to be a little bit slower.
"Yup." Together they entered the tunnel which would lead to the official start of their trip. "No jumping those bridges, ya hear?"
Yag chuckled a bit to himself. {Of course.} They headed down the tunnel and were welcomed by the sight of the broken bridge. The cloth down below flapped in the windy valley, and Yag looked around for a good place to land.
As they plopped down on the sand, Sen began to activate as many inanimate cloths as she could, sliding from one to the other. "My favorite thing to do here is fly around with the little carpets boosting me in the air!" she called to Yag, who was following. Haven't been here for a while….it feels weird. As the last piece of the bridge formed, Sen jigged in place. "Race you to the statue!"
Yag got down low to the ground and wiggled his butt around before leaping off towards the first section of the bridge. He sprinted up the cloth neck and neck with Sen, and they both reached the statue at the same time.
Sen slowed down and took a deep breath before sitting down to meditate, steeling herself. "Obviously we're going to have different encounters with our ancestors. Good luck, Yag. Hope it goes well." She hoped inwardly that her own meeting would go smoothly.
Yag nodded back at Sen and meditated next to her. His stomach churned at the thought of his encounter. The last time he met with his ancestor, he had been just entering the tower, and his ancestor acted like this was the moment he had been waiting for his whole time in…wherever it was he lived. Having left the Tower and deciding to make a journey that goes beyond the Tower, Yag knew that his ancestor would not be pleased.
Yag opened his eyes to see his ancestor standing before him in a brightly lit realm. The golden marks on his robe shone brightly and covered his whole robe. Yag bowed down gracefully.
{Good to see you again, Tepeyollotyl.} He hoped his ancestor would not be angry.
{{And to you as well, Yaguareté.}} It has been too long since we spoke… Yag kept his thoughts quiet. Without speaking another word, Tepeyollotyl chimed out loudly and sent Yag into a vision. He hadn't done this the last time they spoke, but merely told him why he should continue onward.
Yag saw an etching in a wall that appeared to be incredibly old. The colors were faded and some of the details were hard to make out. Ever so slowly, the color came back to them and they stood out vibrantly. Yag took a small step closer. The images began to move, and he could see what looked like a large community of wayfarers in white robes walking through the desert. The leader of them appeared to be a taller white robe with a spotted cloak. Looking harder at it, Yag realized it was Tepeyollotyl. He led our people in the past? The little tribe wandered until it came to a large city wall and stopped. The image began to fade.
{Wait! What happens?} Yag cried out in the hopes his ancestor would hear him, but it was simply a wasted effort. Everything faded away and Yag opened his real eyes. He looked to the side and saw Sen beginning to wake herself. He hoped he didn't seem too shaken up.
Sen arrived in the familiar white space and looked around anxiously before settling on the spectral white figure in front of her. The ancestor was silent for a long time, looking steadily back at her. "Hello, little one," the ancestor finally spoke. "It's been a long time. Do you remember me?"
"Of course," Sen answered respectfully. Abandoning all pretense of being aloof, she bowed her head. "Elder…I am sorry I haven't been to see you recently. A terrible thing happened last time I traveled."
"I know. I am terribly sorry. Fortune was not on your friend's side that day. Know that she is with us now. I wish you luck on this journey, Sendoa. Goodbye," the ancestor called, sending Sen to the world of wakefulness. Looking to the side, she saw Yag was already awake.
